Syracuse Savings Bank

A miscellaneous treatment of a photo I took some time ago:

S.S.B. Entrance

Creek Series 3

A continuing series of images created from photos of Wappingers Creek, taken over time:

   For some reason, this series worked particularly well, with several good results:

December 2, 2011.

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Creek 3A

Creek 3B

Creek 3C

Baking for Christmas

     I decided to make gingerbread cookies for the first time this year. Mom has a recipe which she has been using since the 1960's, but I have never made them myself. We really love the spice and texture of the cookies from this recipe, so the only alteration we made was to use butter instead of shortening.

     When we began planning to bake them, we realized that we did not have a cookie cutter in the shape of a gingerbread man, so we had to get creative. This was the first test batch:

Our updated version of gingerbread men.

    We figured that Domokun is a perfect shape and color for gingerbread and much more interesting than traditional gingerbread men. The only problem was where to get a cookie cutter in the shape of Domo. Time was tight, and we were not going to try to find one commercially and waste time ordering and waiting for it, so I made a cookie cutter out of a scrap of sheet copper. We used currants for the eyes, the mouth is crushed cinnamon candy, and the teeth are lemon-ginger icing. We are very happy with the results, so now more need to be made.

     On a related note, fruitcakes are also in production this week, and will be mailed soon.

The End of an Era

     Somewhat sadly, we finally got rid of our 1987 Honda Accord (DX, manual transmission). This was the first new car either of us have owned. We bought it in February, 1987, from Honda City in Syracuse.  We drove from New York to California with it in August, 1987, and ultimately logged 200, 893 miles.
 

1987 was the first model year for this body style, and also the last year for carbureted engines in the Accord.

     For the past two years, it has sat in the driveway, unused, and although we have had some half-hearted offers to buy it, after some consideration, we decided to donate it to charity.

     We gave it one last wash and vacuuming, cleaned out the few things remaining in the interior and trunk, and pumped up the tires a bit before the tow service came to pick it up.

   We can't say enough about how well this car has performed. Through 24 years we can remember only one major repair, and it still looked good, except for some fading on the plastic bumpers, and a bit of fraying in the interior. It has always started easily, run well, and was absolutely dependable. We will always remember it fondly.

Creek Series 2

A continuing series of images created from photos of Wappingers Creek, taken over time:

Only one picture in Series 2.

November 20, 2011.

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Creek 2A

Creek Series 1

This will be a continuing series of studies based on  photos provided by Paul, beginning in November, 2011. The subject is the lower end of Wappingers Creek near its confluence with the Hudson River. These pictures will vary in technique in response to the lighting and atmosphere of the subject as they change with time.

November 10, 2011.

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Creek 1A

Creek 2A

Creek 1C

 We will continue with these occasionally until the subject seems exhausted, or one of the two of us tires of it.

Pickles

     We have been making our own pickles for a little while now, as it seems that commercial brands are a for the most part, pretty unremarkable, probably on order to appeal to as wide a market as possible.

          Refrigerator pickles are very easy to make, and we adjust the recipe to suit our taste; we use a good bit of garlic and onion, along with mustard seed, coriander, pepper and allspice.